Siquijor Island / Voodoo Island

Siquijor - The Island of Witches

The island of Siquijor is situated some 20
km south-east of Santander and can be reached with our diving banka in some 1.5 hours. It is one of the smallest provinces in the Philippines. Siquijor is home to more than 100,000 people.
Siquijor is known as one of the kind and friendliest islands in the entire archipelago.

Many legends are told about the Island of Witches, as
Siquijor is called by many of its inhabitants. It is well worth spending a few hours with some elderly fishermen over a gallon of San Miguel, listening to their stories. Siquijor is all about
magic and faith healers using black magic and mysterious powers living in the island’s hills.

Diving itself - like in most places in the Philippines - is
exceptionally simple on Siquijor. Many gently descending and colourful coral gardens and richly vegetated reef walls allowing a range of vision of up to 40 metres guarantee snorkelling and scuba
diving in their purest forms. Many spots can be accessed from the beach. Due to the fact that one goes for dives directly from the beach, booties are an absolute necessity for many crabs and sea
urchins lurk in the white sand and the flat sea grass meadows.

Siquijor is located outside of the typhoon belt and is
therefore suited for diving all year round. More than 20 diving areas are available around Siquijor.

The most renowned ones include the
sanctuary, which provides fascinating experiences thanks to its variety of reef and scorpion fish as well as, every now and then, blue spotted rays, octopuses and ghost
pipe fish. Large schools of small barracudas and hefty mavericks as well as smaller groupers and various snappers can be spotted pretty much every time. But one can also experience and discover a
large variety of colourful slugs, turtles and frog fish.

Lala-o Sunken Island:This reef lies between 10 and 18 metres beneath the surface. Cone-shaped,
partially descending steeply and some 30 metres deep, one can dive around this place. Swarms of surgeon fish but also tuna on the hunt and different hard coral formations make this diving spot a
true highlight.

Paliton Cave: A wall steeply descending at some 6 metres features two small caves at a depth of some 35
metres. A dense cover of black corals and sponges. Often, one can spot resting small white tip reef sharks. Groupers and snappers are constant companions. Along the wall, lion fish and scorpion
fish as well as sea snakes, slugs and flat worms romp about.

Paliton Wall,a wall descending to a depth of 40 metres featuring a diverse cover and large fan, black and
soft corals, various sponges and colourful sea squirts. Many fish organised in swarms in the open water whereas lion and scorpion fish as well as slugs can be spotted on the wall.

Surely, a day trip to Siquijor will not be enough to fully explore this great, varied and colourful diving spot.